Scoop: Schumer pledges to pass antisemitism bill in Senate's lame-duck session [View all]

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

11 hours ago


Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently promised Jewish leaders that he would try later this year to pass a bill aimed at curbing antisemitism on college campuses, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The bill would be Congress' most forceful response to the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country this spring, which sometimes led to the harassment of Jewish students.

However, critics argue the definition of antisemitism the legislation offers is overly broad.

Between the lines: A nonprofit group has spent about $5 million on an ad campaign blasting Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker, for his inaction.

Schumer has privately said he plans to attach the Antisemitism Awareness Act — making the federal government adopt a broad definition of antisemitism to enforce anti-discrimination laws — to a must-pass defense bill after the election, multiple sources told us.

The bill passed the House overwhelmingly over the summer, but it has been a divisive issue in the Democratic Party, laying bare internal strife.

The nonprofit group behind the ads, Florence Avenue Initiative, doesn't have to disclose its donors.

The big picture: Frustrations from pro-Israel groups have grown since the bill passed the House in May, repeatedly asking Schumer to get it through the Senate.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/10/30/chuck-schumer-antisemitism-vote